


Get Up, Step Up, Man Up

by Devilc



Category: Friday Night Lights
Genre: Character of Color, Chromatic Character, Gen, Laundrylist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-11
Updated: 2010-01-11
Packaged: 2017-10-06 04:43:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Devilc/pseuds/Devilc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Santiago faces the fact that sometimes, being a man sucks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Get Up, Step Up, Man Up

**Author's Note:**

> Written for FNL_Laundrylist challenge #21, prompt 4 _ Speaking of Garrity children, does Santiago have anything to help Buddy in his time of despair?_

Santiago keeps his head down, mostly. Life's easier that way.

(Sigh.)

This isn't Mama and Papa, but right here, right now is about as good as it's going to get.

It's not like he and Buddy confide in each other, have long heart to hearts, and stuff. Mostly it's just him answering as Buddy springs pop-quizzes about the playbook, or uh-huhing in the right places as Buddy rambles on about his football glory days.

He gets up at 6am, eats his Total, goes to morning practice (Buddy yammering away about whatever happens to be on his mind as they drive to school), goes to school, goes to afternoon practice, catches a ride to work and puts in two or three hours detailing cars, gets a ride back with Buddy on most nights, (for those nights he doesn't, Buddy gave him the extra key), eats dinner, does his homework, brushes his teeth and goes to bed.

(Sometimes he reads the letters from Mama and Papa and blinks back the tears. They got his last letter. They're proud of him. They hope to see him again soon.)

On weekends when Buddy has custody, Santiago makes himself scarce as much as he can. The man doesn't get a lot of time with his kids.

Also, he knows the score. Knows that he's something of a sore spot in the ongoing battle of Buddy and Lyla vs. Pam.

(Buddy junior filled him in on that part one Saturday night as they were climbing into bed. Pam almost didn't let them come because of him.)

So on those weekends, he goes to work, puts in his eight hours and then ... finds a place to be for a while. Sometimes he ends up with some of the guys, hanging out and having fun and talking smack over down at the Alamo Freeze. He and Bradley have a thing going about who gets the last word in  Smash or Saracen. Santiago gets back to Buddy's just after they've come back from going out to dinner, fixes himself a sandwich, and then, most nights, they all end up around the kitchen table playing Monopoly, or Crazy Eights, or Speed, or they do a big jigsaw puzzle.

He's not a member of the family, he's not quite sure he's a friend of the family, but it's _good_.

(Next to taking the field on Friday nights, it's his favorite thing.)

Santiago knows that Buddy skirted around on his ex-wife one time too many.

But he also knows that Buddy ~~loved her~~ loves her still.

He has no idea what to say to Buddy about any of this.

It's not like Santiago's clueless where girls are concerned. He went with a few girls before Juvie. Hell, he's even gotten some from a few of the rally girls since he got here. But he's never been in love with girl, or thought he was in love with one. There are girls he likes to talk to (like Lyla  she's nice, but she's not his type, too churchy), and there's girls he fucks.

But nobody's _both_. Yet.

But Buddy? He's still in love, and he's got it bad.

Santiago makes a sound that's half groan, half sigh as he rubs his hands over his face. It's so late it's early. (He left the party about the time he saw Riggs all but carry Coach's Daughter to his truck.)

This is the capper to a specially shitty week.

Buddy has a hair-trigger temper since he learned his ex was going to become another man's missus.

And then there's everything that those Larrabee assholes dished out to them, and Coach just makes them suck it up (until even Coach hits his breaking point).

(Santiago put what he learned in Juvie to good use during that fight in the cafeteria. That, and some of that stuff that Riggs showed him about hitting with purpose. Coach yelled at them and made them do all sorts of extra drills for the rest of the week, but Buddy grinned from ear to ear when Santiago told him about kicking that guy in the balls and dropping him.)

Right now, there's puke on the couch and some of it has dripped over the edge onto the carpet. (The smell of it makes Santiago a little queasy.) A broken glass sits over by the kitchen island and there's an empty bottle of Jack Daniels on the coffee table. Buddy, dribble of puke on his chin, is lying on his side on the couch, still giving a few hiccoughy sniffles as he hugs a picture of him and Pam on their wedding day. (He looks so lean and trim in the picture that Santiago almost can't believe it's the same guy.)

Santiago wants to brush his teeth and chug some water and go to bed.

But.

Buddy's done more than right by him. And now it's time for Santiago to do right by Buddy.

See, Papa taught him some of what it means to be a man.

And Buddy's been teaching him the rest.

And Santiago knows that if he can't man up enough right now to carry Buddy's almost passed out ass to bed and then clean up this mess?

Then he's got no business being here.


End file.
